Gophers basketball: Malik Smith has inside scoop on Richard Pitino

New Minnesota Gopher basketball coach Richard Pitino walks toward the side of the court after talking with Malik Smith, right, during a short scrimmage at the Bierman Field Athletic Building in Minneapolis, Tuesday, July 16, 2013. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

Malik Smith is the only player on the University of Minnesota basketball roster who has played for coach Richard Pitino, and he did it last season at Florida International.

Smith, a senior transfer, was a starting guard and the second-leading scorer (14.1 points a game) after arriving from junior college.

"If he thinks you can shoot, there's really no limit to the shots you can take, as long as you're open," Smith said of the Gophers' first-year coach.

Pitino couldn't be with his team regularly this summer to instill his philosophy because practice time is limited. So he told returning players who had questions about his system to "just ask Malik."

"Malik will give you a feel for what type of coach I am," Pitino said Tuesday before his sixth summer practice with the Gophers, "how to deal with me, what to do, what not to do."

Pitino said he expects to find out soon whether Smith will be eligible to play next season. The Gophers filed a waiver with the NCAA to allow Smith to play right away because Florida International received a postseason ban because of the program's subpar academic performance.

The Gophers might be waiting to find out about Smith's immediate playing status, but his impact in practice already has been apparent.

In a blog on the team's website, Pitino called Smith the "MVP" of workouts so far because of his leadership and knowledge of the system.

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Smith, who broke the FIU school record with 96 three-pointers last season, might already be the best three-point shooter on the roster, too.

"He's the only one who knows how to play for me," Pitino said. "He had a year with me. We kind of did the same thing. He knows the plays. He's comfortable. He'll take a shot that he knows that I might be a little frustrated with, but he can get away with it a little bit."

Although Pitino hasn't figured out his starters yet, Smith opened Tuesday's scrimmage on the maroon squad with last season's starting backcourt of Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins. Joey King and Elliott Eliason were also with that group.

Smith spotted up on the perimeter and nailed a couple of three-pointers and scored a three-point play after finishing strong on an acrobatic layup. He also tried to be vocal.

"I'm just trying to teach everybody where they should be on the court. It's going along pretty good," he said. "It just comes along with playing in the system for a year, and already knowing what (Pitino) expects."

Junior Andre Hollins, who led the Gophers with 14.6 points and 3.4 assists a game last season, called the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Smith a leader and "terrific shooter" who can "get to the rim."

Hollins welcomes the experience and confidence Smith brings to a potential three-guard lineup. Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins, a senior captain, talked often with Smith when practice first started.

"It's great to have another perimeter player who can score and create, and who knows the offense," Andre Hollins said. "When Austin and I have little questions on whether or not to go here and what we should do in a situation, (Smith) knows what we should do."

A Boston native, Smith, 23, led the state of Massachusetts in scoring with 26.6 points a game as a senior at Madison Park in 2007. After going to prep school for a year, he played for two junior colleges in Texas, South Plains and Jacksonville College. Minnesota is Smith's fifth school in the past six years, but Pitino is still his coach.

FIU was predicted to finish at the bottom of the Sun Belt Conference in 2012-13 after an 8-21 season. But Pitino's up-tempo style of play, and Smith's outside shooting, helped the Panthers win 18 games and nearly reach the NCAA tournament. They lost to Western Kentucky in the conference tournament finals by two points.

Smith remembers how tough that loss was. But he hopes he can now help Pitino take the Gophers to another level.